Lap quilts are the perfect size with which to experiment with leftovers...both mine and those that I "inherit" from others.
I was given 15 squares, plus several scraps, of a colorful "boat" print. The squares measured 6".
Since 15 was an odd number to work with, I was able to piece an additional 6" square from the scraps (just like our quilting fore-mothers did when they didn't have a big enough piece for their design!) . Now I would be able to set the blocks 4 x 4.
Something had to be done to the 6" squares to make them GROW into a decent size lap quilt.
Using the colors found in the print, I searched my stash to see what fabrics I could use to border out the squares, making them bigger. I found a dark turquoise "blender" fabric that would be perfect! However, there wasn't enough of that fabric to add borders to all sides of each square, so the dark turquoise became the top and bottom borders of each square. A solid red fabric was used to border the sides, with solid white used for the corners of the blocks. Because all of these border strips were cut 2", the blocks now finished at 8 1/2".
To help the quilt grow a bit more, the blocks were set with solid turquoise sashing, cut 2" wide. To mimic the smoke coming out of several of the boats in the print, a grey "blender" fabric was used for the cornerstones. :) The finished lap quilt top measures ~38" square.
After the quilt is tied, it will be bound with the solid turquoise fabric, and will be ready to sail away to a new home. :)
